Blog about the pros and cons of Social Media

Monthly Archives: April 2013

The Walt Disney Company has been known for thinking outside the box and being ahead of the curve when it comes to their movies and theme park attractions. At Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida they are trying to get rid of tickets and turnstiles when entering the park. They have come up with called MyMagic+, and it is described as a “vacation management system” that will help track what you are doing and where you are going in the park. When I saw this article in the New York Times and several other news outlets I thought it was perfect for the topic of Technology Imaginaries.

The new turnstiles with MagicBands

Park goers will soon be able to wear wristbands called MagicBands, that will be encoded with all sorts of information from your hotel room, park tickets and fast passes for rides and even function as a credit card, so there will be no need to carry around a room key, money because it will all be on your wrist. I thought this was pretty smart of Disney to do and it doesn’t seem anyone else has ever done anything quite like this. But, I’m sure if it is successful for Disney many other theme parks will follow suit and begin to have something similar. MyMagic+ will also have a website and app, (My Disney Experience) that will allow you to get advance fast passes, seating for shows, and signing up for character meet and greets.

There has already been some backlash about Disney overreaching when it comes to privacy and some opposers are uncomfortable with them ‘tracking’ what and where you are going. But I don’t think Disney’s purpose it ‘track’ you necessarily but I think it is to benefit them to see what visitors like and don’t like, and see what people are willing to wait in line for. I definitely think these bands are so cool and a great idea! I think once they do a trial run with them they will see if they work out but I personally think it will be great for Disney and its thousands of visitors! Because you think that just by having a band around your wrist you won’t have to worry about forgetting the tickets or losing your room key, which is helpful especially when you have kids. As someone who has visited Disney more than several times, I would okay with wearing something like this because of how convient it is. The bands are also going to be customizable
and are coming in a variety of colors.

I just think this is such a forward thinking idea and Disney is definitely a company to get the ball rolling when a good idea comes along. They are using things like apps and Apple products to make park goers lives easier while they are in the parks. With Disney and Apple’s partnership they are doing a trial run currently with scanning in guests with iPhones and they are also starting to use them in stores to make check out easier.

It is rare to find a person of our generation that uses a flip phone, let alone a dumb phone. Because most of my friends have a smart phone, specifically an iPhone, this causes an endless amount of ways to stay in contact with them. This one small device that fits in my hand allows me to update my Facebook status, send a tweet on Twitter, Instagram a picture, pin a new purse that I love on Pinterest and the list goes on.

All of this allows us to communicate with our friends 24/7. Some people see this as an overload of social media, but others see this as the advancement of technology bringing us closer together. Although we are not technically together physically, our cellphones, tablets, and laptops allow us to be with our friends and communicate with them while miles away. This is especially true for me and my friends as we are all away at different schools. We are able to call, text, and FaceTime all on our iPhones in order to stay in touch with each other.

I think that technology brings us together because it is allowing us to be able to stay in contact with those who are not with us or near us. If we did not have the technology today, such as Facebook, Twitter, or iPhones, it would make communicating with those away from us extremely hard. Yes, we are sitting behind a screen instead of face to face, but because of technology we have the ability to contact a friend or family member whenever we want.

My parents are not on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram etc. so they do not see what I have been up to lately. In order to communicate with them I have to pick up my phone and call them and sometimes send a text message. My mom is one of the few people I know that still has a flip phone. My dad was the first in our family to get an iPhone and I FaceTime with him regularly to see him and my mom. If we didn’t have technology today then I would not be able to stay in touch with my parents.

I can see where supporters of technological determinism are coming from, in that technology is a driving force of society, but I also find many flaws with aspects of this theory. I think it would be hard to argue that technology has not been a driving force in our society (at least not after the 18th century). Technology absolutely has changed our lives, thus transforming society.

However, to say that it has done so outside the constraints of culture, politics, and human agency, is to me ludicrous.

If I have learned anything in my communication studies, it is that culture, politics, and the imagination and desire of humans are the deciding factors in whether a technology becomes known, much less used and adopted.

The second part of this argument I am more likely to consider. This is the idea that technologies come about because of inventors, engineers, and scientists, following an “internal, technical logic that has nothing to do with social relationships”. This could be argued either way, but there are certainly technological advances that are a result of research and experimentation in a vacuum, without regard for society or their potential uses for said technology.

This is true in some cases, but the fact that a technology is invented free from human agency, politics and culture does not mean that those very things will not effect how the said technology is adapted to society and used by it. Technology can be created in a vacuum, but it cannot create change within it. It is those very things (human agency, politics, culture etc.) that determine if and how a technology is used. Just look at the Internet, which was created for military communication (and is now used for…well everything).

The other interesting argument that technological determinists make is that we define epochs of time and countries by their dominant technological artifacts. I am somewhat ambivalent towards this point, and although it is true, I don’t know that it really says anything concerning the direction of causality.

In theory, technological determinism seems viable and logical, but once considered outside of a strictly historical sense, we realize that it just does not work. Technology is not a changing force, the people who use it are. “technological determinism is as dangerous as historical determinism”. As Karl Popper stated in Volume Two of TheOpen Society and Its Enemies concerning historicism, “human progress, can be achieved only by…become more fully aware of the fact that progress rests with us, with our watchfulness, with our efforts, with the clarity of our conception of our ends, and with the realism of their choice”. I think the same applies for technology and the society.

The new aesthetic is an image-processing media that was originated in Britain. It is a media that belongs to a small group at this time, but it is one that we should be interested in taking and using. The new aesthetic is defined as “an eruption of the digital into the physical,” by Bruce Sterling in his article “An Essay on the New Aesthetic.” The new aesthetic is the newest product of modern world of technology, and a share-able concept.

The new aesthetic is a means of telling the truth. There are different forms of the imaginary that it allows for expression in this time period. Thanks to all the new devices and machines we are able to create raw graphic innovations. These are innovations that we are then able to open up to the world and allow to interact with. An example of how this technology is opened up and shared is the through its Tumblr entitled “The New Aesthetic.”

This wonderful new media has given us the ability to break down cultural walls and build connections. We are also able to see the new aesthetic transpire in real time. It exists wherever there is means to transmit information. ThisYoutube video explains the New Aesthetic a little better: Continue reading →

There is an endless list of “uninvented inventions” that could make our hectic lives easier. It may not be considered a communication or media device, but a car that drives automatically I feel could better the lives of an enormous amount of people. But what would that do to our society? How could it help and hurt the way we interact with each other? For one thing, in theory, if the technology was flawless (which it never is) the self driving car would eliminate many accidents. Or would it? Could people trust this new technology enough to put their lives at risk? What are the obstacles we face when adapting to a new device? and if we were ever able to adopt this new technology, what would the effects be on our society?

These questions can not be answered easily, but media archeology helps provide an insight as to how to approach them. Media archeology is the recalling and rewriting of history as it pertains to culture technology. From a media archeologists stand point, it is important to look at how you experience technology rather than the technology itself.

So let’s go back to the self driving car. If we approach the device from a MA standpoint then the car is not what is important. What truly matters should be how we relate to it and create a connection the new device. How would it change our society for the better and for the worse? What would it do to our economy and other competitors of cars? Would it be man made or mass produced by a factory machine? Because this does not exist, it really does not matter how we answer these questions. What should be noted is that our relationship with our new technology is the most important.

Another example from today’s culture is a cell phone. The phone only has as much power as we associate with it. The device itself is insignificant without the impact we allow it to have on us. Media archeology provides us with the background information necessary to understand how our relationship with technology is what is most important.

Technology and the body have always been interacting. Edward Tenner wrote in “Technology, Technique, and the Body” about the use of a steering wheel and how humans adapted to using a steering wheel when they first learned to drive. Humans and technology both modify and change one another.

An interesting article by Ari Daniel Shapiro goes into what is being done today for future advancements with mixing technology and the body. “A small community of people who have magnets inserted into their bodies” is no April Fool’s joke. Shapiro introduces cybernetics professor Kevin Warwick and his goal to merge humans and machines.

The article touches upon people who have similar feelings as Warwick, like Rebecca Davey. She had a small incision in her finger so a magnet implant could fit under the skin. This way when she passes a microwave, she fills the pull and tingle of the magnet. Why, you ask? According to Warwick, just having the magnets in fingers can create a different way to interpret music.

Warwick makes a good point with how humans are not good with multi-tasking when it comes to technology. Driving and talking on cell phones have turned into a bad idea, no wonder more states are deeming it illegal to do both at the same time.

The future for the merging of humans and technology is advancing, but unknown. Who knows, I may be full of magnets in 20 years and must avoid getting too close to a fridge…